PRESS RELEASE : Extension of appointments to the Animal Welfare Committee [January 2024]
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 1 January 2024.
Four committee member terms are extended.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has extended the terms of four members of the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC).
Dr Romain Pizzi, Dr Pen Rashbass, Professor Sarah Wolfensohn and Dr James Yeates will serve on the committee for an additional four years from 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2027.
The AWC advises Defra, as well as the Scottish and Welsh Governments, on matters relating to animal welfare, including farmed, companion and wild animals kept by people.
Madeleine Campbell, Chair of the Animal Welfare Committee, said:
I am delighted that Doctors Pizzi, Rashbass and Yeates and Professor Wolfensohn have agreed to serve a further term on the AWC. They each bring distinct, independent expertise and experience to the committee. I am looking forward to continuing to work with all of them in the interests of animal welfare.
Biographical details
Dr Romain Pizzi: Romain is a specialist veterinary surgeon, former president of both the British Veterinary Zoological Society and the Scottish branch of the British Veterinary Association, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Dr Pen Rashbass: Pen has specialism in genetics, sheep and beef cattle, agroecology, conservation grazing and rewilding, and is a member of Defra’s Genetics for Livestock and Equines Committee.
Professor Sarah Wolfensohn: Sarah is a veterinary surgeon and Professor of Animal Welfare at the University of Surrey’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She was awarded an OBE for services to animal welfare in 2012 and a Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2019.
Dr James Yeates: James is a veterinary surgeon with a degree in bioethics and law, and a PhD in animal welfare. He is CEO of World Federation for Animals and authored ‘Animal Welfare in Veterinary Practice’ and ‘Veterinary Science: A very short introduction’.
